VJ Edgecombe Just Became the Youngest Playoff Player Ever to Do What Magic Johnson Did
The Philadelphia 76ers are still alive. VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey made sure of that on Tuesday night, absolutely dismantling the Boston Celtics 111-97 to tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece. But here's what's wild: the 20-year-old Edgecombe just rewrote the history books in the process.
Edgecombe's Historic Night
Edgecombe dropped 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while playing through pain after a hard fall early in the game. At 20 years and 265 days old, he became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 30-10 game in the playoffs. That breaks Magic Johnson's record, set during his legendary 42-point, 15-rebound performance in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals when he was just 20 years and 276 days old. Johnson was starting at center that night because of an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at KalshiEdgecombe also made six of the 76ers' 19 three-pointers, and he's now the first rookie ever to post 30 points and 10 boards in a playoff game since Tim Duncan did it back in 1998 against the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals.
Maxey Takes Over When It Matters
If Edgecombe was the story, Tyrese Maxey was the closer. Maxey scored 29 points with nine assists, pulling Philadelphia out of the fire after they got absolutely torched 123-91 in Game 1. "This is who we are. Game 1 was not who we are," Maxey said after the win. The 76ers shot 47.8% from the field and connected on 19 of 39 three-pointers. That's the kind of shooting that flips a series fast.
Boston's offense couldn't keep pace. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 36 points, and Jayson Tatum added 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, but it wasn't enough. The Celtics shot just 39.3% from the field, went 13 of 47 from deep, and coughed it up 13 times.
The Upset and the Road Ahead
The 76ers were massive underdogs, closing at plus-13.5 at DraftKings. This is their largest upset win in any game since January 2005 against the Mavericks, and their biggest playoff upset win in 35 years. Game 3 tips off in Philadelphia on Friday. The Celtics better show up, because this series is far from over.
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